


Coming Home

by luvya386



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005), Torchwood
Genre: BAMF Martha Jones, BAMF Rose Tyler, Deus Ex Machina, Episode: s01e13 End of Days, Episode: s02e01 Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Episode: s03e11 Utopia, Episode: s03e12-e13 The Sound of Drums/Last of the Time Lords, F/M, Immortal Rose Tyler, M/M, Multi, Time Agent fuckery, Time Goddess Rose Tyler, this was supposed to be a one-shot then it snowballed
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-25
Updated: 2020-07-28
Packaged: 2021-03-01 00:29:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 14,980
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23316190
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/luvya386/pseuds/luvya386
Summary: Rose ends up in Cardiff, back in her original universe. Is it just the Rift acting up, or is it because of something more sinister? Eventual Doctor/Rose reunion.
Relationships: Jack Harkness/Rose Tyler, Tenth Doctor/Jack Harkness, Tenth Doctor/Jack Harkness/Rose Tyler, Tenth Doctor/Rose Tyler
Comments: 30
Kudos: 92





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Pawns in the Game](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/571963) by Liz (surrexi). 



Jack stood in the Hub, arms crossed, brooding. Who knows what else could happen as a result of Owen opening the Rift. They made it back, but at what cost? There were already reports of temporal anomalies coming in from all over the world. And if that weren’t enough, there was the graffiti in the dance hall with the words that had been following the Doctor and Rose through time. Bad Wolf. What did it mean? Would the Doctor be coming? Is it some sort of warning? And then there were the ominous warnings of something moving in the darkness.

He sighed and turned to go up to his office before something caught his eye. It was one of the plaza feeds, a blonde woman was looking at the sky. Jack felt a ping of recognition and a swell of hope in his chest. He stared intently at the screen, willing the woman to turn around so he could see her face. Almost as if she heard his thoughts, she turned, and his hope exploded into joy. Rose Tyler, in the flesh! He raced out the Hub, through reception, and made a beeline straight for her. 

The rest of the team gathered around the monitor confused as to what had prompted this from their mysterious Captain. They watched, shocked, as the blonde turned and saw Jack, the joy and happiness was evident on their faces as they ran into each other’s arms. They wrapped each other in a tight hug as Jack spun the woman in his arms. When he let her feet touch the ground, Jack pulled her into a fierce kiss. After a moment, they broke free of each other with laughter on their faces. The team saw Jack take her hand and lead her to the lift, one question on all their minds. Just who was this mystery girl?

\-------------

  
Rose was elated. Sure, she was a little concerned when she had a strange dizzy spell and looked up to the sky to see it devoid of zeppelins. But Jack was here, everything would be fine. They would take care of each other and together they could find the Doctor, and then their little family would finally be back together after so long apart.

“Rosie, it is so good to see you, you have no idea!”

“Oh my God Jack! How are you here? The Doctor said you stayed to rebuild the earth after the game station, I thought he just didn’t want to tell me you’d died.” Rose cried into his coat, her eyes watering.

“Don’t cry sweetheart, I’m okay. Did you come with the Doctor, is he here?”

“No, I was trapped in a parallel world, working for parallel Torchwood there were some strange readings in parallel Cardiff, then I was here.”

Jack led her over to the invisible lift “well Rose Tyler, let me introduce you to Torchwood Cardiff.” He activated the lift with his wrist unit and they descended.

\-------------

  
As they reached the bottom Jack gestured to his team. “Rose Tyler, meet Gwen Cooper, Ianto Jones, Toshiko Sato, and Owen Harper.”

“Dr Owen Harper” Owen interjected.

“Everyone this is Rose Tyler; She and I have travelled together in the past and she knows a thing or two about aliens and rifts.”

Rose waved “hello, nice to meet you guys.”

“Now that introductions are out of the way, we have to get to work. I’ve been fielding calls all night, the government, UNIT, the CIA, half of the western world and a good portion of the eastern are all asking the same thing: does this have anything to do with us?”

Gwen stepped forward, “and does it?”

“I’ve run a profile on every reported temporal anomaly and tracked any physical or temporal pattern” Tosh reported. The screen showing multiple cracks coming from Cardiff.

“Shit” Gwen muttered.

“Not good” Rose agreed.

“The cracks are emanating from here, the Hub is the centre, as you can see here around the world are ripples and aftershocks.” Jack turned to Owen, “the Rift is splintering because of you.”

Owen was shocked. “What?”

“You opened the Rift without knowing what you were doing, you’ve caused the temporal cracks to widen, time is seeping through.”

“If it wasn’t for me you two would still be in the 1940’s, so are we gonna sit around crying into our lattes or are we going to do something about it?” Owen shot back.

“Bring those who’ve fallen through time back here, into the vaults-“ Jack started.

“And do what with them?”

“We’ll deal with phase one first, then I’ll tell you about phase two.” After he comes up with a phase two, he thought.

Owen raised his voice “you can’t control time. You can’t send them back. What are we gonna do?!”

“We’ll think of something” Jack shouted back. Rose slipped her hand into his, trying to comfort him, which caught the attention of Owen.

“And what about her then? I don’t see you taking her to the vaults.”

Jack stepped forward “she is the exception” looking around to make sure his team understood. They looked scared and overwhelmed. “Hey, this is not the end of the world. I’m certain of that.”

“It’s true, we’ll get through this.” Rose shared a smile with Jack, “we always do.”

They were interrupted by an alarm on the computer. “Priority one attendance requested at the hospital” Ianto announced. “Mortality rates have gone through the roof; they’re sealing off the area and designating a hot zone.”

“I’ll go” Owen volunteered.

“Tosh, go with him” Jack ordered.

“No thanks, I’m fine on my own.”

“Then you’ll be even better with me alongside, shut up and go.” Tosh grabbed her coat and headed for the door.

Gwen stood up, “did you have to pick on him in public, in front of a stranger no less?”

“All our actions have consequences.”

“And all your staff have feelings Jack, even Owen” Gwen defended.

“Well you would know” Jack shot back leaving Gwen stunned.

“He brought you back! Would you rather be stuck in World War II?” Then she got a call from her friend Andy at the station, and Jack, Rose and Gwen went down to deal with the Roman soldier he had in lockup. 

\--------------

  
Jack is scanning the unconscious Roman soldier. 

Gwen turned to him thoughtfully, “if Owen managed to open the Rift to get you and Tosh back, can’t we do the same for these people? We’ve still got the rift manipulator.”

“There’s a world of difference. We’re talking about taking control of time, not bringing two people back from the past. Besides, look at the damage Owen caused. We mess with it further, we’ll put the planet in danger.”

“Also opening the Rift can’t really be controlled accurately enough to send them all back to their proper time. And if the Rift opens wide enough, the whole planet could implode.” Rose added.

Jack threw a comforting smile Gwen’s way, “have I ever let you down?”

She turned and looked into another cell and stood mesmerized at the vision of Bilis from the dance hall.

“Gwen are you okay?” Rose asked concerned.

Gwen breaks out of her trance to see the cell was now empty, Bilis nowhere in sight.


	2. Chapter 2

Jack throws the Roman soldier in the cell. “You’re sure it was the same guy?”

“It was definitely him, Bilis, the caretaker of the dance hall” Gwen assured him.

“That’s all he said, sorry?”

Rose’s worry increased, “well that’s concerning. What is he sorry for?” Rose turned to Gwen as an idea occurred to her. “You said the equation to open the rift and get Jack and Tosh back had the last few numbers scratched out. And he is obviously a time traveller being in both 1941 and now.”

“Coming through” Ianto escorts a Weevil to one of the cells. “Thirteen more reports of Weevils on the loose. We’re not going to keep up at this rate.”

“Everything’s on the increase.” Jack stated as the Weevils keened in their cell.

“Can you stop them from making that noise?” Gwen asked.

“If you have any ideas how” 

Jack turned thoughtful “maybe they’re time sensitive. The disturbance may be too much for them.”

“The poor things” Rose placed a hand on the Plexiglas.

“We’re now full in all vaults across all nine levels.” Ianto informed Jack. “Do you want me to activate the vaults below? It’s just, we’ve never used them since I’ve been here.”

“Do it. Gwen, let’s run a search on your dance hall buddy. We need to find him.” Jack grabbed Rose’s hand and led her to his office while Gwen set up the search.

“So, we finally have a chance to talk. Sorry about the craziness” Jack apologised.

“Don’t worry about me, we’re in the middle of a crisis. Just like the good old days yeah?” Rose gave him a smile, her tongue peeking out between her teeth.

Jack couldn’t help but smile back. “So how did a nice girl like you end up in a parallel world?”

Rose’s face fell and her eyes dropped “Canary Warf. The Daleks came through in a void ship and the Cybermen used the cracks it left to travel from Pete’s World to ours. But travelling through the void like that leaves void stuff all over you. The Doctor opened the breach, pulling everything that had been through the void back into it.” Rose’s breathing shuddered “my lever got knocked offline, I fixed it but I couldn’t hold on, I almost got sucked into the void.” Jack gasped in horror. “My Dad from the other universe saved me and brought me there but then the walls closed with us on the other side. I haven’t seen the Doctor since he burned up a sun to send a projection through the last crack to say goodbye.”

Jack gathered her in her arms as she tried not to cry. “Don’t worry, I’m here and we’ll find him. You’ll see him again I promise.”

Rose smiled at that, reassured. “So, what about you? How did you end up in 21st Century Cardiff?”

“Well, I woke up ankle deep in Dalek dust to find the Doctor gone, but I still had my vortex manipulator. I thought 21st Century Earth, best place to find the Doctor but got the flight a bit wrong ended up in 1869, I’ve been waiting over 100 years to find a version of him that coincides with my timeline. But don’t worry, I have a Doctor detector, and he’ll come to refuel on the Rift eventually.”

“He just left you there? I can’t believe him! I’m so sorry Jack, if I’d known-“

“It’s not your fault sweetheart, don’t worry about it.”

Rose pulled back in confusion “wait, but that means you’re over 100 years old!”

“And lookin’ good don’t ya think?” Jack said with one of his flirty grins.

“But, how?”

“I don’t know, all I know is that I can’t die. It’s one of the reasons I have to find the Doctor, he’d know what happened.”

Jack stepped out of his office when Owen and Tosh entered the Hub, Rose right behind him. “Owen, how was the hospital?”

“Laugh a bloody minute. They’ve got an outbreak of the Black Death.”

Rose’s eyes widened “oh my God.”

“Have they got it under control?” Jack tensed with worry. “Tosh! How are they coping?”

“Er, Owen got the place quarantined and organised treatments for those who’ve been infected.”

“Only consolation is, it’s treatable these days. But, you know, what happens when the next carrier comes through, Jack? Someone carrying smallpox or Ebola or something from the future we don’t even know about yet? What do we do then?” Owen demanded.

“Yeah well, it’s not doing any good standing around speculating.”

“We need to be prepared. We’re helpless. All we’re doing here is sticking plasters on gaping wounds.”

Jack was all ears. “What do you suggest?”

“I suggest you lead us and tell us what the instructions are.”

“Owen-“ Gwen tried to interject.

“No, come on. You’re all thinking it too. You’re the big man here. You keep all the secrets. Well, now’s the time to tell us a few and tell us how the hell we’ll get out of this.”

Jack whirled back on him. “You want to know a secret? There is no solution. I can’t fix this. Because this was never meant to happen. The first thing you learned when you joined Torchwood was don’t mess with the Rift. But you disobeyed those orders, and now everything that’s happening is down to you.”

“I only disobeyed instructions to get you back!”

“And now people are dying.”

Owen scoffed “what, so I shouldn’t have bothered? Then you wouldn’t have your mysterious friend either. Speaking of mysterious, who the fuck are you anyway? Jack Harkness? You don’t even exist. We’ve looked. So, if you’re not even a real person, then why the hell should I follow your orders?”

Rose stepped forward. “Okay, enough both of you. Placing blame isn’t going to help anyone. Right now it doesn’t matter how this happened, we need to work together to find a solution.” Rose stared them both down as Owen shifted uncomfortably and Jack stood to attention. “Now what leads do we have?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading and all the feedback! See you next Wednesday :)


	3. Chapter 3

Gwen, Jack, and Rose walked into Bilis’ shop Stitch in Time looking around at all the different clocks on display.

Gwen sounded awed “wow, some of this stuff must go back centuries.”

“He scavenges antique pieces from the past, brings them here, sells them for a profit.” Jack had to admit he was impressed.

“Not a bad business plan” Rose added.

Bilis descended the stairs, “we all have to earn a living.”

Jack looked him over “you’re from 1941.”

“As you were. Hello again.”

Gwen stepped forward, “ how can you be in two time zones at once?”

“I can step across eras, like you’d walk into another room. At first, it was the most incredible gift. Now I know the reality. It’s a curse.”

“Why?”

“I can see the whole of history, but I don’t belong anywhere within it.” Bilis looked at Rose oddly, then turned to Jack. “So, your return to this time had a price. Time’s splintering. This city exists on a Rift in time. The only way to make it right is to fully open that Rift, let it suck back what fell through.”

“No way” Jack denied. “It’s too dangerous.”

“Can we even do that?” Gwen questioned.

“Of course you can. Isn’t that right Captain?”

“Jack?”

“You’ve seen what happened. If we open that Rift fully millions of lives would be at risk.” Jack answered Gwen.

“And yet, if you don’t, more will fall through. Lives will be lost.”

Jack pulls out his revolver and aims it at Bilis. “You know so much, you’re coming back with us.”

With an “I’m sorry” Bilis vanishes.

“Damn it.” Jack activated his earpiece. “Trace the temporal activity around this location. We need to find out where he is.”

Rose leaned in towards him. “I don’t like this Jack, there is something wrong about him. He’s dangerous and can’t be trusted.”

“I know, come on.” With that, Jack and Rose left the shop. Gwen turns to leave but is stopped by the sound of clocks chiming the hour. Looking around, none of the clocks are at the hour mark.

\--------------

  
Jack turned to see Gwen coming up from the cells where she had placed Rhys in protective custody, after Bilis had given her a vision of his death. “Did he wake up?”

“Yeah. Yeah, he did. Tosh, can you bring up the CCTV of the vaults? Er, just leave it on the screen. I know it sounds crazy but....” Gwen requested.

“Sure, no problem.”

Gwen turned to Jack and Rose. “Thank you for helping me bring him here.”

Rose placed a comforting hand on Gwen’s arm, “of course.”

“I can’t understand how Bilis was able to show you that vision.” Tosh wondered out loud.

“It seems that Bilis is able to do things he really shouldn’t be able to do.” Rose observed.

“It was so real. I was in my flat. It smelt like my flat. It had all the sounds of my flat. I touched the blood. I can still feel it on my hands. Rhys’ blood.” Gwen held her hands before her face as if she still saw the blood on them.

“Not gonna happen.” Jack reassured her, “come on, there’s still work to be done.”

Just then all the lights went out.

“What’s going on?” Ianto looked around the Hub.

Tosh looked up from her computer, “we have a security breach.”

“All right, nobody panic.” Jack ordered.

Gwen ran for the cells calling out Rhys’ name.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! Feedback is always appreciated!


	4. Chapter 4

Jack cleans Rhys’ blood from Gwen’s hands as she sits next to his body on the autopsy table. 

“I’ll have to tell his family.” Gwen’s voice was monotone.

“We’ll deal with it” Ianto offered.

“The way you dealt with the porter the first time I met you? No, you won’t deal with him Ianto.”

Rose spoke up from her position near the wall “Gwen, I’m so sorry.”

“You never even met him. This is what happens here. We all end up alone. Not me. No way.”Gwen turned to Jack. “You bring him back.”

Jack replied quietly but firmly “no.”

“The Ressurrection Gauntlet-“ Gwen started.

“Was destroyed.” Ianto finished.

“We’ve got to have something else.”

“I said no” Jack repeated.

“No, there’s something wrong with time, so uh, we, we can go back to the moment, to the very moment-“ Rose felt tears begin to well up at the frantic energy Gwen was working up.  
Jack interjected “Gwen.”

“There’s something you can do, otherwise what’s the fucking point of you!?” Gwen shouts as she flings herself at Jack, Pounding his chest with her fists. “You, you bring him back! Bring him back. You bring him back. Do you understand me? Jack fucking Harkness!”

“I’m sorry.” Jack tried to console her, “I’m so sorry. I’m sorry.”

Owen looked over at Jack. “How many other people have to suffer? I’m gonna fix this. I’m opening the Rift.” He announced as he headed towards the manipulator.

As Ianto turned to follow him, Jack called out to him. “Make sure you stop him.”

Ianto turned back. “No.”

“We’re gonna help him” Tosh added.

“Bilis was right. He said open the Rift and everything goes back to normal. Owen’s right. I’m going to get Rhys back.”

Rose spoke up “you can’t trust him! He has his own agenda, he planted those visions in your heads. You’re doing exactly what he wants, you don’t understand how dangerous this is!” But they ignored her.

Jack and Rose followed the team to the main area of the Hub where Ianto was giving instructions on how to open the Rift. “Enter Emergency Protocol One.”

Gwen pushed Owen to the side. “Out of the way, I’ll do this.”

Jack’s voice took on a warning tone. “Get away from the computer Gwen.”

“Jack-“ Owen looking at him warily.

“This is a trap. All these cracks around the world, they’re diversions. This is what Bilis wants.”

“What are you afraid of Jack?” Owen asks.

Ianto gives Gwen the password. “Rhea Silva.”

Jack draws his revolver “I said move.” Rose looks at him worried, she doesn’t know what to do. On one hand she doesn’t want Jack to shoot his team, but on the other she remembers Jack’s and the Doctor’s warnings about how dangerous the Rift was.

Tosh blinked surprised at the gun. “What the hell are you doing?”

Jack steeled himself. “Final warning.”

“Come on, Jack” Gwen pleaded from her position in front of the computer.

Jack took in his team standing together, and figured he could try tough love as a last ditch effort. “You’re a united front now? Toshiko, the poor girl who’ll screw any passing alien that gives her a pendant? Owen, so strong he gets in a cage with a Weevil, desperate to be mauled. Or Ianto, hiding his cyber-girlfriend in the basement. Your three comrades here pumped bullets into her, remember?”

Gwen just looked at him pleadingly. “I’ve got to get Rhys back.”

Jack had one last play before he had to shoot. “Yeah, cos you’re so in love with Rhys that you spend half your time in Owen’s bed.” And with that Owen punches him so hard Jack goes down, and Owen grabs his gun, while Gwen yells.

“Fuck you!”

Owen stiffened as he pointed Jack’s gun right at his head. “We’re relieving you of your command, Captain. We’re opening the Rift and getting back what we lost!” 

Rose raised her hands slowly in front of her trying to calm everyone down. “We all need to calm down, you don’t have to do this.” She pleaded.

Just then the computer flashed the security protocol. **Retina prints of all Torchwood personnel required for authorisation**.

Gwen muttered “shit.”

“Stay down.” Owen warned as he saw Jack start to stand up pushing Rose behind him.

“You’re in charge Owen? You’ve gotta have significantly bigger balls.” Jack taunts as he stands up.

A shot rings out and Rose screams as a bloody hole appears in Jack’s forehead. As he falls to the ground Owen shoots him twice more in the chest making Rose jump at each bang. Everyone is now focused on Jack as he stares lifelessly at the ceiling. Rose starts sobbing as she falls to her knees beside his body.

Owen hasn’t looked away from Jack’s face. “I’m sick of people doubting me.”

Ianto looks between Jack’s body and Owen in shock. “What have you done?” Gwen carefully takes the gun from Owen. As the team take the retinal photos they need from each other. 

Gwen takes the retinal imager, “we still got to do Jack’s.”

They take the photo from his dead staring eye as Rose is draped over his chest softly crying. They input the images into the system. The system warns that the protocol will endanger Torchwood infrastructure. Gwen looks around at her team, when no one wavered, she hit okay. Alarms start blaring throughout the Hub.

Rose places her hands on either side of his face “Jack, I need you. Wake up!”

With a gasp Jack grabbed Gwen’s ankle and rasped out “what have you done?” Energy shoots up the water tower and into the sky and everything not bolted down starts shaking violently.

“Help me with him!” Rose shouted over the noise as Jack tried and failed to get to his feet himself. The glass partitions shatter as Rose and Gwen help Jack to the stairs and out of the Hub, following the others.

\--------------

  
“Keep moving” Jack orders as they reach a back street by the plaza, Rose and Gwen supporting him. He wasn’t usually this weak when he came back from death, maybe he woke too soon?

“It’s going to be alright Jack.” Gwen tried to assure him, “everything is going to go back to normal.

They stopped short as Bilis appeared before them. “From out of the darkness, he is come.”

Rose stepped forward leaving Jack to lean on Gwen. “Who is come?” She demanded to know.

“Son of the Great Beast, cast out before time, chained in rock and imprisoned beneath the Rift.”

All colour drained from Rose’s face and she took a step back in fear, placing herself between Bilis and Jack. “No. No, it can’t be.” Everyone turned to look at her surprised at the horror in her voice.

“All hail Abaddon, the Great Devourer, come to feast on life.” The great horned beast towered over the city and roared. Every step it took set off alarms and caused the earth to shake. Every living being caught in its shadow fell to the ground dead. Bodies littered the streets. “The whole world shall die beneath his shadow. I look upon you, my god, and know my work is done.”

“I thought it was over when we threw the Devil into the black hole, but of course he has to have a son. And us without a black hole to destroy him.” Rose muttered as she helped support Jack once more, looking at the monster.

The high rise buildings barely came up to it’s knees, it’s face looks like a cross between a bulldog and a pug, and knarled horns sprouted from its head.

“How do we stop it?” Gwen turned to Jack. “Tell me what to do Jack.”

“You two, get me to an open space.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Sorry about the late post.


	5. Chapter 5

Jack gets out of the SUV, clearly still in pain from getting shot. Rose follows, keeping an eye on the beast destroying the city. “What are we gonna do?”

“If Abaddon is the bringer of death, let’s see how he does with me. If he feeds on life, then I’m an all you can eat buffet. Keep Rose safe, that’s an order.” Jack made his way towards Abaddon.

As she hears Jack’s plan, Rose cried out “no Jack!” She is held back by Gwen as she tries to run to Jack’s side.

“Get out of here. Go! Drive as fast as you can.”

“Jack!”

“Hey ugly, bring it on!” Jack yelled at the beast. Which catches his attention, he turned heading straight for Jack. As Abaddon’s shadow touches him, he screams in agony. A beam of energy appears connecting Jack to the beast. Abaddon roars in victory as Jack falls to the ground still shrieking from the pain.

Rose could see the beast growing stronger from Jack’s life force. “NO!” she cried as she broke free of Gwen’s hold. Her voice took on an ethereal quality. _“No more.”_

Gwen stared in shock as she saw glowing golden tendrils of energy coming from within Rose. “ _You will not take him from me_.” Rose stretched out her hand towards Abaddon, and the beast roared in pain and fury as it turned to dust before her. She lowered her hand to her side after the beast disintegrated. 

Gwen gave her a wide berth as she ran to Jack’s side. Just as Rose laid her glowing eyes on him, Jack announced his return with a deep gasp. Gwen helped him up from the ground.  
“Jack something’s happened to Rose. What’s going on?”

His eyes widened in shock and wonder as he took in the sight before him. Rose was surrounded by tendrils of glowing gold, and the same glowing gold encompassed her eyes as she looked at them. She looked like a goddess.

“Rose, are you okay? What’s happening?” Jack moved towards her, hand outstretched as if to touch her, but then thought better of it and stopped a few paces away. He glanced at where the beast once stood “did you kill it?”

“ _Everything must come to dust. All things. Everything dies, even you Captain_.”

“But I can’t.”

“ _I am the Bad Wolf. I can see the whole of time and space. Every single atom of your existence, and I have seen your death. You will meet it with my Doctor at your side, ages from now. When you do, you must give him a message_.”

“What message?” Jack asked shock and awe rooting him in place.

Rose stared into his soul, and slowly recited the message. “ _You are not alone_.”

“I’ll remember. But Rose, if you can see all of time and space, can you tell me why I can’t die?”

“ _As Goddess of Time it is my duty to protect it. But I cannot do it alone. I need the help of my Doctor and my Captain to save the universe from destruction_.” The Bad Wolf turned to survey the huge pile of dust that used to be Abaddon. “ _The threat is gone; I must go now_.” 

Jack shot forward to catch Rose as she collapsed, no longer glowing. As she slept in Jack’s arms, she looked like her normal self again. After Jack checked to make sure she was just sleeping, he shared a look of amazement with Gwen. Then worry began to creep in.

“Gwen, I need you to forget what you saw here.”

Gwen opened her mouth to argue, but as soon as she saw the dangerous look on Jack’s face, she closed it and simply nodded, not trusting her voice.

\---------------

  
The trio walked into the Hub to find the rest of the team cleaning up the mess opening the Rift made. Tosh was the first to see them and rushed over to Jack for a hug. Ianto was right behind her, and as he awkwardly held out his hand for a handshake, Jack grinned and pulled him into a deep kiss. As they broke apart, Jack noticed Owen standing behind Ianto, head down in shame.

“I-“ Owen started.

Jack pulled him into a hug, “I forgive you.” Jack continued to hold him as Owen sobbed into his coat.

Later, Jack was sitting at his desk, sorting out the mess while Rose napped on his couch, when Gwen came in to speak with him.

“What’s happened to the Rift?”

“It closed up when Abaddon was destroyed, but it’s going to be more volatile than ever.” Jack informed her.

“The visions we had; we all saw people we loved. What did you see?”

“Nothing, no visions for me.”

“Jack, what would have tempted you? What visions would have convinced you to open the Rift?” Gwen tilted her head curiously.

Jack fondly looked to where Rose was resting on the couch. “The right kind of Doctor.”

A moment passed in silence. “Well, I’m going to check on Rhys, I’ll be back soon.” Gwen waved as she headed out of the Hub.

\----------------

  
Jack and Rose were walking through the Hub, when Jack sighed “where are they with those coffees?”

“Should they be back by now?”

Jack was just about to answer when he spotted the hand in a jar glowing, he almost couldn’t believe his eyes as he closed the distance to it.

Rose followed him over focusing on the hand. “You know, it’s weird, but that hand sort of feels familiar. Who’s is it?”

Jack looked at her with amusement “take a wild guess.”

Rose looked from him to the hand as realization came over her face. The Doctor’s hand! The one he lost in a duel with the Sycorax at Christmas. “But how did you get it?”

Jack was saved from answering as wind started throwing papers around the Hub and the wheezing and groaning of the TARDIS could be heard. He started stuffing the hand into a backpack he kept under the table for this purpose. 

Rose urged him to hurry up as the TARDIS materialized in the Hub. “Come on, he won’t stick around, he’s probably just here for a pit stop.”

“In my Hub?” Jack huffed.

“The TARDIS lands where she likes” Rose gave him one of her tongue in teeth grins as she pulled her key from around her neck. 

The two of them grinned at each other as they pushed through the doors to their home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late posting! I appreciate any and all feedback. Thanks for reading. :)


	6. Chapter 6

“Cardiff!” The Doctor exclaimed proudly.

Martha scoffed, “Cardiff?”

“Ah, but the thing about Cardiff, it’s built on a rift in time and space, just like California and the San Andreas Fault, but the Rift bleeds energy. Every now and then I need to open up the engines soak up the energy and use it as fuel.”

“So, it’s a pit stop.”

“Exactly, should only take 20 seconds. The Rift’s been active.” The Doctor frowned at the readings he was getting.

“Wait a minute. They had an earthquake in Cardiff a couple of years ago. Was that you?”

“Bit of trouble with the Slitheen.” He mumbled. “A long time ago. Lifetimes. I was a different man back then.” He stopped his study of the readings and started bounding down the hallway deeper into the ship. Calling out behind him “be right back!”

Martha jumped as the TARDIS doors swung in admitting a handsome man in a greatcoat and a young blonde both of them grinning. As soon as the doors closed behind them, they were all thrown to the side as the TARDIS threw herself into flight for a few seconds then suddenly stopped.

Jack instinctively stepped in front of Rose seeing that they had unknown company in the control room as the Doctor’s voice came closer from within the ship.

“What was that Martha? Did you press the blinking blue buttons again?” His pace slowed as he entered the console room, and he came to a stop beside the console.

Jack’s voice was restrained as he stood up straighter. “Doctor.”

“Captain.” The Doctor’s voice was equally terse.

Martha looked between the two wondering what had happened between them before speaking up. “Sorry, but how did you get in here?”

“He had a key.” The Doctor froze as Rose stepped from behind Jack holding her key up to prove it. 

Martha was shocked, the Doctor looked like someone had just shoved a knife in his chest as he stared at the blonde girl. Who was she?

“Impossible” the Doctor breathed out still frozen to the spot. “It’s some illusion, or shapeshifter-“

“Or a Slitheen?” Rose offered with a soft smile. 

“You’re not a Slitheen.” He said, almost questioning, as his voice started to blossom with hope.

Rose slowly stepped up to stand before him and gently took his hand. “The very first thing you said to me, you grabbed my hand and said ‘run’.”

The Doctor’s face beamed with joy. “Rose!” And he gathered her in the tightest hug he could manage without hurting her.

Jack and Martha watched the exchange between the reunited pair. Jack with fondness, Martha with some disappointment. So, this was the famous Rose.

After a moment, Jack came up to Martha and introduced himself. “Captain Jack Harkness, and who might you be?” Giving her one of his trademark flirty grins.

Martha allowed him to kiss her hand, “Martha Jones.”

“Nice to meet you Martha Jones.”

The Doctor pulled back from his embrace with Rose. “Oh, don’t start!”

“I was just saying hello.”

Martha looked back at the Doctor “I don’t mind.”

Jack turned to the Doctor “it’s good to see you Doctor.”

“And you. Although, had you had some work done?” The Doctor queried.

Jack gave him a look marvelling at his audacity. “You can talk” he shot back.

“Oh right, regeneration.” The Doctor replied after a second of confusion

Jack decided to just jump right into it. “You abandoned me.”

“Did I? Busy life, moving on.” The Doctor’s face going neutral.

After giving him a pointed look that said they would discuss that later, Rose changed the subject. “So Doctor, what happened to the TARDIS? We were in flight without anyone piloting, but we’ve stopped now.”

The Doctor grabbed her hand and dragged her around the console as he pushed buttons, pulled levers, and turned knobs. “I don’t know, we’ve just stopped in the middle of space. I can’t get her going again.” He turned to his companions. “Did anyone touch anything?”

Martha stepped back and raised her hands while Jack and Rose shook their heads.

“Let’s go to the library, and you can tell us what happened and how you got here, then we’ll figure out what is going on with the TARDIS.” The Doctor turned to Rose for her approval before starting down the hallway, heading to the library.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the irregular posting. Hoping to fix that soon. Thanks for reading and let me know what you think!


	7. Chapter 7

They all settled in to the sitting area of the library in front of the lit fireplace. The Doctor and Rose took the couch, still not letting go of each other’s hand. Jack and Martha took the armchairs opposite from them.

“Now there, all settled. So, Rose, how did you get back here? It should have been completely impossible without imploding both universes.” The Doctor asked insanely curious.

“I’m not sure. You know I was working for parallel Torchwood, right? So, we were taking some readings from the Rift in Cardiff when I felt a little dizzy. When I looked up Mickey was gone and there wasn’t a single zeppelin in the sky.”

Martha cut in “sorry, what do zeppelins have to do with anything?”

“Parallel world, where everything is mostly the same but slightly different, in this case they had zeppelins.” The Doctor informed her.

“Anyway, then Jack was there and we were helping his team with the Rift.”

Jack picked up where she left off. “We were investigating the Ritz dance hall and Tosh and I got stuck in 1941. My team opened the Rift to get us back but Bilis the manager had his own plans. Time splintered, people were falling through time, soldiers, Weevils, plague carriers. It caused chaos, people were calling it the end of days, Bilis used that and planted visions in my team’s heads and convinced them to open the Rift fully contrary to my orders. They believed everything would go back to normal.”

The Doctor started to get fired up at that. “You know how dangerous it is! Why didn’t you stop them?”

“We tried!” Rose defended him, “they killed him for it.”

The Doctor sat back slightly mollified, his anger switching from Jack to his team. Noticing how Jack said ‘his orders’ instead of ‘the rules’, or ‘common sense’, and filing that information away for later.

Jack continued “they opened the Rift, and it seemed to suck back everything that fell through, except Rose, but that was exactly what Bilis wanted.”

Rose squeezed the Doctor’s hand, bringing his attention back to her. “You remember Krop Tor?” He stiffened. “Well turns out he had a son.”

“Abaddon the Great Destroyer was imprisoned beneath the Rift. My team opened the Rift setting him free. Everything caught in his shadow died instantly. But we managed to destroy him.” Jack gave the Doctor a subtle look telling him there was more to the story. “Then I got a signal on this,” he gestured to his backpack, “detecting you and here we are.”

“Abaddon must have been imprisoned beneath the Rift in the void, which would have opened the walls for a short time allowing Rose to travel through back to this universe.” The Doctor mused. He turned to face Rose. “Spontaneous travel through the void is not something to take lightly, do you mind if I do a few tests, make sure you’re alright?”

She gave a strained smile “can we do that tomorrow? I’m completely exhausted, can I take a quick kip?”

The Doctor rubbed his thumb over their joined hands. “Of course, rest. Why don’t you get some sleep too Martha? Jack and I will work on the TARDIS, see if we can get her moving again.”

Martha stood up from the armchair and stretched. “Alright, it’s been a long day, see you later.” She tried to keep her voice cheerful. 

Rose gave the Doctor a quick kiss on the cheek as she stood up, surprising Jack. The last Doctor, the one with the leather jacket and ears, wouldn’t have been comfortable with all the affection and touching he and Rose have been doing. Jack supposed this one was a little more physical and affectionate, he even leaned into the kiss Rose gave him.

As Rose made to leave, Jack mock pouted. “What, don’t I get any of that sugar?” He flirted at Rose.

With an amused glance at the Doctor, Rose went over to Jack, cupped his face in her hands, and gave him a chaste kiss on the mouth. The Doctor scowled at Jack in jealousy as Rose headed out of the library in search of her room.

\--------------------

  
Rose and Martha had been walking down the corridors for a while when Rose summed up the courage to ask, “Martha, the Doctor, how is he?”

“How do you mean?”

“When he misses his destination my 100 years, does he still laugh about it? Does he still lick everything, and stick his fingers in the marmalade? How is he doing?”

Martha smiles fondly, “yeah he still does all those things” her smile faded. “But underneath it all, he’s sad. You know the first thing he said to me after I got in the TARDIS was that I wasn’t replacing you.” Martha looked Rose straight in the eye. “Don’t hurt him again, okay?”

Rose seemed to be holding back tears, “I never did on purpose, and I never will.” She vowed.

They walked in silence for a little while longer, until Rose came to a stop in front of a door decorated with the carving of a wolf howling at the moon, and if you looked closer you could tell the moon was made of rose petals. 

Martha automatically called out “no, you can’t use that room, it’s off limits.”

Just looking at her face, Martha knew what Rose was going to say before she said it. “Martha, this is my room.”

“Of course it is, must be why he spends so much time in there.” Without waiting for a response, Martha continued down the hall to a door which had her name written on it in flowing script, and went inside. She was tired enough to sleep for days it seemed.

As Rose entered her room, she noticed all the little things that were different than how she left them. The photos on her nightstand had been moved so that the ones of her and the Doctor were front and centre. There were no clothes littering her floor like there normally was, a quick look in her closet showed that they were all hanging up. And on her dresser was a vase with a single rose, fresh as if it was picked earlier today.

She grabbed the PJs that were laid out on her bed as she headed to her ensuite to get ready for bed. “Thanks so much Old Girl, oh I missed you.” Rose got a contented hum in response, and she smiled as she tucked herself in to bed and surrendered herself to sleep. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, let me know what you think!


	8. Chapter 8

The Doctor and Jack had made their way to the console room and the Doctor flopped down on the seat. “Care to tell me what you didn’t want to say in front of Rose and Martha?”

“It’s Rose. When Abaddon was released, I tried to kill him by overwhelming it with my life force. I don’t know whether it was working or not, but while it was happening, Rose started glowing, her voice echoed like there were two of her speaking at once. She turned him into dust with a thought.” The Doctor was looking at Jack with a mix of amazement and horror.

“She said that she was the Bad Wolf, and that she needed both of us to prevent the destruction of the universe. Doctor, she called herself the Goddess of Time and said it was her duty to protect it. After it was all done, she fainted and when she woke up, she didn’t seem to remember it. What happened to her Doctor?”

The Doctor turned to stare into space, mind buzzing at what he had just been told. “It all started at the game station.”

Jack leaned against the console, “I thought you sent her home?”

“She came back. Opened the heart of the TARDIS and absorbed the time vortex itself.”

Jack’s eyes widened, “what does that mean exactly?”

“No one’s meant to have that power. If a Time Lord did that, he’d become a vengeful god, but she was human.... She said protecting time was her duty? And all that power flowing through her, she destroyed the Daleks.” He gave Jack a piercing look, “she brought you back to life, I thought she couldn’t control it when she brought you back forever. But if what you say is true, it was on purpose. That’s something I suppose, the last act of the Time War was life.”

“How long have you known?”

“Ever since I ran away from you. When did you first realize?”

“Earth, 1892. Got in a fight on Ellis Island. A man shot me through the heart. Then I woke up. Thought it was kinda strange, but then it never stopped. Fell off a cliff, trampled by horses, World War I, World War II, poison, starvation, a stray javelin.” The Doctor made a pained face in sympathy. “In the end, I got the message. I’m the man that can never die. And all that time you knew.” Jack’s tone turned accusing at the end of his spiel.

“That’s why I left you behind. It’s not easy just looking at you, Jack, because you’re wrong.” He demonstrated by looking at Jack, head to toe.

“Thanks.”

The Doctor jerked his head to the side, crossing his arms. “You are. I can’t help it, I’m a Time Lord. It’s instinct. It’s in my guts.” He gestured at Jack with his head. “You’re a fixed point in time and space. You’re a fact. That’s never meant to happen. Even the TARDIS reacted against you, tried to run away from you, even though you were already inside.”

Jack raised his eyebrows. “So, what you’re saying is that you’re, er, prejudiced?”

“I never thought of it like that.” A smile emerging on his face.

Jack sent him a teasing grin. “Shame on you.” Somehow the honest, if a little bit offensive, answer mollified the Captain much more than any complicated explanation he could think up. And of course, he can’t stay angry with the Doctor for long.

“Yeah” the Doctor was pulling on his ear, obviously feeling guilty about his actions. Any further resentment that Jack may have had, fled.

“Considering that, then it’s my fault the TARDIS took off, but what stopped it?”

“So, you two have had a chance to talk then?”

\-------

Rose stood in the hallway just outside the console room. She sent a thought to the TARDIS to not reveal her position to the men inside. She leaned forward a little to try and catch what they’re saying.

“I never thought of it like that.” That was the Doctor.

“Shame on you.” Jack’s voice was teasing. Good, it meant he probably forgave the Doctor for abandoning him.

“Yeah.”

“Considering that, then it’s my fault the TARDIS took off, but what stopped it?”

Rose stepped forward into the room before she could be found eavesdropping. “So, you two have had a chance to talk then?”

Both men whirled around to see her standing at the entrance, smile on her face. As soon as they saw her, she moved to stand in between them.

“How’s it going?”

“Good, yes, doing good.” The Doctor took her hand “Why are you up? I know you; you were exhausted I could tell.” He was studying her face like it had all the answers.

Rose was confused, “I don’t really need as much sleep anymore, a few hours and I’m good to go.”

The Doctor hummed thoughtfully, “I see, let’s get you to the med bay and run those tests.” He then started down the hallway. Rose rolled her eyes at Jack as she was pulled behind him.

As they entered the med bay, Rose let go of the Doctor and hopped up onto the exam table. The Doctor set some scans to run, took a vial of blood, and shined a light in her eyes. She endured all the tests in patience.

“Why did you just abandon him?”

He sighed, “he’s a fixed point. Immortal. He plays havoc on my time senses.”

“Just say you’re sorry.” She repeated the words he said to her in the church, the day her father died.

His eyes met hers, and he answered. “I am sorry.”

Rose smiled and cupped his face in her hands, “I forgive you.”

The Doctor gathered her hands in his and pressed a kiss to them. “Doesn’t help that he’s an incurable flirt.”

Rose rolled her eyes “he’s harmless, he doesn’t mean anything by it.”

“He means it with you.”

“Yeah, but Doctor, he means it with you too.” Rose sat for a bit in silence, letting him process the information. “How long has it been, since the beach?”

He cleared his throat “just over a year for me. What about you?”

“Almost three years.”

“I’m so-“

Rose interrupted him, “don’t you dare say you’re sorry, because it’s not your fault, okay?”

He swallowed the choking feeling he was getting. “Okay. But as we’re talking about what I should or shouldn’t say, I have something to say to you.” The Doctor took an unnecessary steadying breath. “Rose Tyler, I love you.”

Rose beamed up at him and pulled him down for a hug. “Quite right too.”

They stayed like that for a while before the Doctor switched to serious mode. “All the tests have come in, and you are perfectly fine. Healthy as a horse!”

Rose took this in stride, used to the abrupt changes in mood. “Back to the console room?”

“Allons-y!”


	9. Chapter 9

Jack was looking through some readings as Rose and the Doctor returned to the console room. They joined him by the console. He moved the screen so the Doctor could read it too.

“The huon particle readings are practically doubled, not to mention the artron energy. It looks like the extra energy is coming from another source, secondary to the TARDIS. I can’t figure out what it could be.” Jack explained his findings.

“Rose.”

“Yeah Doctor?”

The Doctor gave her a small smile. “No, the secondary source of energy is Rose.” Rose and Jack turned to him in shock.

Jack was the first to find his voice, “okay, the artron energy I get, but the Time Lords got rid of huon energy, now it only exists in the TARDIS.”

Rose felt a pit of nerves grow in her stomach. “Doctor, why did the Time Lords get rid of huon particles?”

“Because they were deadly.” A sound of dismay escaped Rose; Jack pulled her into his arms. “Hey, I said you were healthy as a horse and you are. Do you trust me?” She nodded, his assurances and Jack’s hug dissolving the pit in her stomach.

“So, I have extra artron energy and deadly huon particles in me but I’m fine.” Rose tried to wrap her head around it, “how?”

The Doctor switched into what Rose dubbed his teaching mode. “Back at the game station, you opened the heart of the TARDIS and absorbed the time vortex. You essentially became a god called Bad Wolf. You destroyed the Daleks and resurrected Jack. I took the power out of you but the smallest spark of power remained, doing its work in the background, changing you, getting you ready. You put yourself on a slow heat and let simmer.” The Doctor explained, giving her an impressed smile and Rose looked at him in confusion.

“Rose, you barely got 3 hours of sleep and you’re fully rested, you have enough huon particles to rival the TARDIS. And when I say you haven’t aged a day, I’m not exaggerating or being kind; it’s been 4 years for you, but you still look as young as you were when we first met. And Jack tells me that Bad Wolf made another appearance when Abaddon was released.”

Rose stumbled into the console seat. “Wow, okay, just – a lot of information.” The men could see the gears turning in her head as she processed. “Wait, I absorbed the time vortex, then you took it out of me, but when you regenerated you said you absorbed it.” She looked into the Doctor’s eyes, tears starting to fall. “Did I kill you?”

The Doctor gathered her into a comforting hug. “The alternative was death by extermination. Rose you saved my life. Again. Don’t ever feel bad about that, okay?”

Rose extracted herself from his arms, smiled and wiped the tears from her face. “Right, you’re still here. Both of you. That’s what matters. So, what’s wrong with the TARDIS?”

Jack gave a small chuckle, “in short, me.”

“Anything we can do short of throwing him out the doors?”

“Yes, I’d like that not to be the solution” Jack put in.

“I wouldn’t worry just a small recalibration and we should be good to go.” The Doctor announced.

“Great, well get to it then!” Rose slapped his arm lightly.

The Doctor winced in mock pain. “I can’t. She won’t listen to me.” He mumbled not meeting their eyes. “I think it’s because Rose is the one who unconsciously stopped her and they have a special connection.”

“Well, how do I do it, recalibrate the TARDIS? If I stopped her, then I should be able to start her again right?” Rose asked as she looked between the Doctor and Jack.

“It’s not that hard, I can help with the connection, you just have to tell her it’s alright,” the Doctor assured her.

“Jack can you keep her steady while we’re busy? We might be a minute or two.”

Jack sent him one of his trademark grins “I’ll take care of the Old Girl don’t you worry.” He gave the console a caress.

“Oh lay off.”

“She doesn’t mind” Rose informed him as she felt the TARDIS hum happily in her mind.

The Doctor had Rose stand in front of him, “if there’s anything you don’t want me to see just imagine a door and close it, you could even slam it if you like.” He raised his hands to her head and closed his eyes.

Rose gasped as he entered her mind, feeling a rush of thoughts running through his head lightning fast.

_Sorry._ She felt a wall erect between her and his thoughts.

_No wonder you can’t hold a topic for more than a few sentences._

_Oi!_

_Am I wrong?_ She sent him the image of her eyebrow raised.

... _No._

She tried caressing the Doctor’s mind with hers, focusing on the love she felt for him. She felt a wave of love wash over her from the Doctor, surprising her with its intensity.

_I told you I did, didn’t I? Now time to fix the TARDIS. Think of her and tell her it’s okay._

Rose aimed her thoughts at the TARDIS. _Hey Old Girl,_ Rose felt a wave of love in her mind, _I’m here to talk about Jack. You remember him, right? He’s the one who feels weird._

The TARDIS hummed, unsure.

_It’s okay, we made him like that remember, he’s the same Jack. And he’s ours._ Rose showed the TARDIS her love for the Captain and felt something release. She opened her eyes at the jerk of movement to see the Doctor doing the same, both of them smiling in triumph. Jack moving around the console, hard at work in the background.

“She says there’s somewhere we should be.” Rose told her boys as another jerk threw her against the console.

Martha chose then to come in. “I felt us move, are we good then?”

“The TARDIS is taking us on a trip!” The Doctor informed her as he pulled the monitor in front of him. “We’re accelerating into the future. The year one billion, five billion, five trillion, fifty trillion, what? The year 100 trillion? That’s impossible!”

Martha is hanging on to the railing, “why what happens then?”

“We’re going to the end of the universe.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading! Feedback is always appreciated and helps me get better. See you next chapter! :)


	10. Chapter 10

They all took a moment to steady themselves after the TARDIS landed.

“Well, we’ve landed.” The Doctor confirmed.

Martha joined him by the monitor, “so what’s out there?”

“I don’t know.”

“That’s new.” Rose shared a surprised look with Jack.

“Not even the Time Lords came this far, we should leave. We should really, really go.” The Doctor trailed off, before giving the others a manic grin. He took off towards the doors.

Outside the TARDIS it appeared to be a quarry, the land is desolate and it’s dark out.

Rose caught up with the Doctor and took his hand, while Jack stayed a few paces back to keep Martha company as the group made their way down the path.

Martha and Jack were swapping stories about how they came to be travelling with the Doctor. Rose tuned back in as Jack mention the game station.

“So, there I was, stranded in the year 200 100, ankle deep in Dalek dust and he goes off without me. But I had this,” Jack indicated his wrist strap. “I used to be a Time Agent; it’s called a vortex manipulator. He’s not the only one who can time travel” he points at the Doctor.

“Oh, excuse me, that is not time travel. It’s like, I’ve got a sports car and you’ve got a space hopper.”

Martha let an amused sound slip out, “oh ho, boys and their toys.”

Jack looked at the Doctor, exasperated. “All right, so I bounced, I thought 21st Century, best place to find the Doctor, but got it a bit wrong. Arrived in 1869, this thing burnt out, so it was useless.”

“Told you,” said the Doctor, smug.

“I had to live through the entire 20th Century waiting for the right version of you.”

Martha did a double take, “but that makes you over 100 years old!”

“And lookin’ good, right?” Jack returned with a wink. “I went to the time rift and based myself there, because I knew you’d come back to refuel. When finally, I get a signal detecting him, and here we are.”

“But the thing is, why did you leave him behind Doctor?”

“It’s complicated.”

“Is that what happens though, seriously? Do you just get bored of us one day and disappear?” She asked incredulously.

Rose stared at the ground awkwardly, remembering Sarah Jane. As the Doctor whirled around on Jack and Martha.

“You two. We’re at the end of the universe, alright? Right at the edge of knowledge itself and you’re busy...” the Doctor paused, considering “blogging! Come on.” They moved to the edge of a cliff, looking out over old buildings carved or built into the ravine.

“Was that a city?” Rose asks.

“A city, or a hive, or a nest, or a conglomeration. Like it was grown, but look, there. That’s like pathways, roads? Must have been some sort of life, long ago.” The Doctor deduced.

Martha took in the view, “what killed it?”

“Time. Just time. Everything’s dying now, all the great civilizations are gone. This isn’t just night. All the stars have burned up and faded away into nothing.”

Jack turned his eyes towards the sky. “They must have an atmospheric shell; we should be frozen to death.”

“Well us three maybe, not so sure about you Jack.” The Doctor gave him a pointed look.

Martha couldn’t tear her eyes away from the city. “What about the people? Does no one survive?”

“I suppose we have to hope life will find a way.”

“Well, he’s not doing too bad,” Jack observed pointing at a man running. Then a group carrying torches and weapons ran up behind, chasing him.

“Or not” Rose intoned.

One of the running tribe shouts “human!”

The Doctor grew more concerned, “is that me or does that look like a hunt? Come on!” He takes off in their direction.

Jack laughs as he runs with them. “Oh, I’ve missed this!” As they neared, Jack sped up to get in front and grabs the man in a steadying grasp. “I’ve got you.”

The man is frantic “they’re coming! They’re coming!”

As the tribe catches up, Jack draws his revolver and aims.

“Jack, don’t you dare!” The Doctor shouted. Jack throws a glance behind him then fires three shots into the air.

Martha stares at the tribe covered in tattoos and ritual scarring. “What the hell are they?”

The man pleads with them “there’s more of them, we’ve got to keep going!”

“I’ve got a ship nearby. It’s safe, it’s not far, just over there.” The Doctor looks in the direction of the TARDIS as sees another group of the tribe in between them and the TARDIS. “Or maybe not.”

“We’re close to the silo, if we get to the silo then we’re safe!” The man informs then indicating the path clear of the tribe.

“Silo?” The Doctor asks looking to the others.

“Silo” both Jack and Rose chorused.

Martha raised her hand “silo for me.”

They book it down the path. The man starts shouting as they close in on the gate.

“It’s the Futurekind! Open the gate!”

The guard keeps the gates closed “show me your teeth. Show me your teeth!”

The man backs him up as the four don’t show their teeth fast enough. “Show him your teeth!” They all pulled back their lips, showing as much of their teeth as they can.

“Human! Let them in, let them in!” The guard shouts as he ushers then through the gate and immediately starts to close it after them. “Close, close, close!” He fires a blast of bullets at the ground in front of the tribe to prevent them from getting any closer.

What looks to be the leader of the tribe steps forward. “Humans. Humani. Make feast.”

The guard raises his automatic rifle “go back where you came from. I said, go back. Back!”

“Oh, don’t tell him to put his gun down.” Jack snarks at the Doctor.

“He’s not my responsibility.”

“Oh, and I am? Huh, that makes a change.” Jack quips back.

The leader of the tribe is still there. “Kind watch you. Kind hungry.” Then he makes a dismissing motion and the tribe fall back to where they came from.

“Thanks” Rose said to the guard.

“You’re welcome. Let’s get you inside.” The guard started escorting them to the building.

“My name is Padra Toc Shafe Cane.” The man tells the guard. “Tell me. Just tell me, can you take me to Utopia?”

The guard gives him a smile and a nod “oh, yes sir. Yes I can.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Canada Day! Enjoy the new chapter and leave a review :) Thanks for reading.


	11. Chapter 11

The group were escorted into the building and given some sort of ticket, as everyone tried to speak at once.

“It looks like a box, a big blue box. I’m sorry but I really need it back. It’s stuck out there.” The Doctor spoke with what seemed to be the man in charge name Atillo.

Then Padra interjected. “I’m sorry, but my family were heading for the silo. Did they get here? My mother’s name is Kistane Shafe Cane. My brother’s name is Beltone.

Atillo focused on Padra first. “The computers are down but you can check the paperwork. Creet! Passenger needs help.”

A young blond boy appears from around the corner with a clipboard. “Right. What do you need?” Padra went over to speak with him.

Atillo turned his attention to the Doctor. “A blue box you said.”

“Big, tall, wooden. Says police” described the Doctor.

“We’re driving out for the last water collection. I’ll see what I can do.”

“Thank you.” The Doctor replied, relieved.

“Come on!” called Creet, already heading down the hallway.

Martha sped up to walk beside him. “Sorry, but how old are you?”

“Old enough to work. This way.” Creet lead them down a crowded corridor.

Creet and Padra called out periodically, looking for Padra’s family. The people either shook their head or ignored their calls. Pictures were tacked up on the walls, and blankets were spread out on the floors to make bedding. It was so crowded some people didn’t even have that.

“It’s like a refugee camp.” Martha noted.

“Stinking. Oh, sorry.” Jack apologised as a man turned to him at his comment. “No offense. Not you.”

The Doctor was delighted. “Don’t you see that? The ripe old smell of humans. You survived. Oh, you might have spent a million years evolving into clouds of gas, and another million as downloads, but you always revert to the same basic shape. The fundamental humans.” Rose and him shared a grin. “End of the universe and here you are. Indomitable! That’s the word. Indomitable. Ha!”

A woman finally responds to Creet. “That’s me.”

“Mother?”

“Oh my God, Padra!” She cried as she pulled him into a hug with another who seemed to be his brother Beltone.

Rose shared a smile with the others at the reunion. “It’s not all bad news.”

Meanwhile, Jack has found a rather handsome young man. “Captain Jack Harkness. And who are you?”

“Stop it. Give us a hand with this.” Jack shot the man an apologetic smile at the Doctor’s words, and headed over to join him. “It’s half deadlocked. I need you to overwrite the code. Let’s find out where we are.”

The Doctor makes to step forward as the door opens, but is stopped short as Jack grabs the back of his coat preventing him from falling down the giant rocket shaft.

“Gotcha.”

“Thanks.”

“How did you cope without me?” Jack joked.

Martha was looking at the ship with amazement. “Now that’s what I call a rocket.”

“They’re not refugees, they’re passengers” Rose realized.

“He said they were going to Utopia” Martha recalled.

“The perfect place. One hundred trillion years, it’s the same old dream. You recognise those engines?” The Doctor asked Jack.

“Nope. Whatever it is, it’s not rocket science. It’s hot though.”

“Boiling.” The Doctor closes the door. “But if the universe is falling apart, what does Utopia mean?”

Their conversation was interrupted by the arrival of an older man in a white billowing shirt and vest, who immediately started looking between Jack and the Doctor. “The Doctor?”

“That’s me” the Doctor replied cheerfully.

The professor grabs his hand and starts pulling him down the hall. “Good! Good! Good. Good. Good, good, good, good, good. Good!”

The Doctor turned to his companions with an amused look. “It’s good apparently.” With that they followed him down to a laboratory.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! I'm always looking for constructive criticism so leave a comment! Sorry again for the long time between chapters.<3


	12. Chapter 12

“Chan welcome tho” Chantho tries to say to the Doctor as Professor Yana drags him past her, directly to the machinery. The rest of the group enters “Chan welcome tho.”

Rose smiles at her, “hello.”

“Hi, who are you?” Martha asks the insectoid woman.

“Chan Chantho tho.”

Jack takes her hand in his and introduces himself. “Captain Jack Harkness.”

“Stop it” the Doctor admonishes as he studies the systems.

“Can’t I say hello to anyone?”

“Chan I do not protest tho.” If Chantho could blush, she would right now.

“Maybe later Blue,” Jack clasped his hands, ready to get to work. “So, what do we have here?” He moves over to the corner and places his backpack on the table.

“And all this feeds into the rocket?” The Doctor asks the professor.

“Yes, but without a stable footprint, you see, we’re unable to achieve escape velocity. If only we could harmonize the five impact patterns and unify them, well, we might yet make it. What do you think Doctor? Any Ideas?”

The Doctor spun in place surveying the laboratory. “Well, er, basically, sort of, not a clue.”

The professor went from hopeful to disappointed. “Nothing?”

“I’m not from around these parts, I’ve never seen a system like it. Sorry.”

“No, no. I’m sorry. It’s my fault.” Professor Yana assures him. “There’s been so little help” he explains.

Over in the corner, Martha pulls the container out of Jack’s backpack and is shocked at what is inside. ”Oh my God. You’ve got a hand? A hand in a jar. A hand in a jar in your bag” she accuses Jack.

The Doctor sputters “but that, that, that’s my hand!”

“Yup” Rose agrees popping the ‘p’ at the end.

“I said I had a Doctor detector.” Jack explains nonchalantly.

“Chan is this a tradition amongst your people tho?”

Martha is still freaking out a bit. “Not on my street. What do you mean, that’s your hand? You’ve got both your hands; I can see them.”

The Doctor tugged on his ear. “Long story, I lost my hand Christmas Day, in a swordfight.”

“He grew another one” Rose informed her.

“What?” Martha aimed a bewildered look at the Doctor. “You just grew another hand?”

“Er, yeah, yeah, I did.” He waves his hand that grew back “yeah. Hello.”

Professor Yana had been listening with rapt attention. “Might I ask, what species are you?”

The Doctor sat back and straightened his spine. “Time Lord, last of. Heard of them?” Chantho and the professor just shake their heads. “Legend or anything? Not even a myth? Blimey, end of the universe is a bit humbling.”

“Chan it is said that I am the last of my species too tho.” Chantho informed them.

The Doctor tried to remember if he was introduced to her yet. “Sorry, what was your name?”

The professor spoke up “my assistant and good friend, Chantho. A survivor of the Malmooth. This was their planet, Malcassairo, before we took refuge.”

The Doctor’s eye’s widened in realization “the city outside, that was yours?”

“Chan the conglomeration died tho.”

“Conglomeration. That’s what I said.” The Doctor repeated, excited to be proven right.

“Doctor” Rose admonished him.

Jack gave him a look, “you’re supposed to say sorry.”

“Oh, yes.” He leaned forward, grin slipping off his face, revealing a more sombre expression. “Sorry.”

“Chan most grateful tho.”

Martha was still trying to wrap her head around the Doctor growing another body part. “You grew another hand?”

“Hello, again.” He said, waving. “It’s fine. Look, really, it’s me.” He wiggled his fingers holding his hand out for a shake.

Martha tentatively shook his hand. “All thing time and you’re still full of surprises.”

“Don’t worry, it freaked me out in the beginning too.” Rose empathised with Martha.

“Chan you are most unusual tho.” Chantho referred to the Doctor.

He was clearly pleased someone thought so, he jerked his head to the side. “Well....”

Jack changed the subject before he could get too big a head. “So, what about those things outside? The Beastie Boys. What are they?”

“We call them the Futurekind, which is a myth in itself, but it’s feared they are what we will become, unless we reach Utopia.”

“And Utopia is...?” The Doctor prompted curiously.

The professor scoffed, “oh, every human knows of Utopia. Where have you been?”

“Well, he’s not human,” Rose reminded the professor.

Professor Yana brought them over to a monitor and shows the display of the gravitational field navigation system. A small dot blinking on the screen.

“A call came from across the stars, over and over again. Come to Utopia. Originating from that point.

“Where is that?” The Doctor questioned.

“Oh, it’s far beyond the Condensate Wilderness, out towards the Wildlands and the Dark Matter reefs, calling us in. The last humans scattered across the night.

“What do you think is out there?” Rose asked.

“We can’t know. A colony, a city, some sort of haven? The Science Foundation created the Utopia Project thousands of years ago to preserve mankind, to find a way of surviving beyond the collapse of reality itself. Now perhaps they found it. Perhaps not. But it’s worth a look, don’t you think?”

The Doctor grinned at him, “oh, yes.” Professor Yana closes his eyes, a pained expression on his face. “And the signal keeps modulating, so it’s not automatic. That’s a good sign someone’s out there. And that’s, oh, that’s a navigation matrix. So you can fly without stars to guide you.”

Rose lifted a hand to the professor’s shoulder, “Professor? Professor Yana?”

He jerked, the sound of the drums dimming as he refocused. “I, er,” he cleared his throat, “right, that’s enough talk. There’s work to do. Now if you could leave, thank you.” He moved back towards the system.

“Are you all right?” The Doctor asked, concerned.

“Yes, I’m fine. And busy.”

“Except that rocket’s not going to fly, is it? This footprint mechanism thing, it’s not working.” Chantho gave the professor a worried look.

“We’ll find a way!” Yana insisted.

“You’re stuck on this planet. And you haven’t told them, have you? That lot out there, they still think they’re gonna fly?”

The professor sat down, defeated “well, it’s better to let them live in hope.”

“Quite right, too.” The Doctor announced, surprising Professor Yana. “And I must say, Professor er, what was it?”

“Yana.”

“Professor Yana,” the Doctor shrugs off his coat and tosses it to Jack. “This new science is well beyond me, but all the same, a boost reversal circuit, in any time frame, must be a circuit which reverses the boost.” He grabs the switch and cable from Yana, and sonics it. “so, I wonder, what would happen if I did this?” And he flips the switch, sending power surging through all the machines.

“Chan it’s working tho!”

The professor looks around in wonder, “but, how did you do that?”

“Oh, while we’ve been chatting away, I forgot to tell you.” The Doctor grins like he’s Father Christmas. “I’m brilliant.”


	13. Chapter 13

Rose, Martha, and Chantho made their way through the corridors carrying circuit panels for the rocket, as the passengers gathered their things and made their way to their seats on the rocket. Announcements came over the speaker system periodically.

**All passengers prepare for immediate boarding. All troops report to silo.**

Martha almost ran into the boy with the clipboard from before. “Excuse me. Hey, what was your name? Creet.”

He looked up at her smiling down at him. “That’s right miss.”

“Who are you with Creet? You got family?” Questioned Rose.

“No, miss. There’s just me.”

Martha smiled sadly, “well, good luck. What do you think it’s going to be like in Utopia?”

“My mum used to say the skies are made of diamonds.”

“Good for her.” Martha gestured with her head; hands full of circuits. “Go on, off you go. Get your seat.”

Unbeknownst to them one of the Futurekind watches them leave.

\---------

Back in the laboratory, the Doctor is sniffing one of the wires. He looks up at Yana in surprise. “Is this-?”

“Yes, gluten extract. Binds the neutralino map together.” The professor continues the plug in wires.

The Doctor follows suit, “that’s food. You built this system out of food and string and staples. Professor Yana, you’re a genius.”

He scoffed, “says the man who made it work.”

“Oh, it’s easy coming in at the end, but you’re stellar. This is, this is magnificent. And I don’t often say that because, well, because I’m me.”

The professor shrugs, “well, even my title is an affectation. There hasn’t been such a thing as a university for over a thousand years. I’ve spent my life going from one refugee ship to another.”

“If you had been born in a different time, you’d be revered. I mean it. Throughout the galaxies.”

“Oh, those damned galaxies. They had to go and collapse.” He intoned, making the Doctor chuckle. “Some admiration would have been nice. Yes, just a little, just once.”

The Doctor raised his eyebrows, “well, you’ve got it now. But that footprint engine thing. You can’t activate it from onboard. It’s got to be from here. You’re staying behind.”

Yana nodded, “with Chantho. She won’t leave without me. Simply refuses.”

“You’d give your life so they could fly.”

“Oh, I think I’m a little old for Utopia. Time I had some sleep.”

Atillo’s voice came over the intercom: **Professor, tell the Doctor we’ve found his blue box.**

“Ah!” The Doctor exclaimed in joy.

“Doctor?” Jack points to the TARDIS on the monitor.

The Doctor leaned in close to Yana. “Professor, it’s a wild stab in the dark, but I may have found you a way out.”

Professor Yana stares at the monitor showing the TARDIS as the drumming in his head becomes louder and louder.

\----------

When the TARDIS gets moved to the lab, the Doctor immediately gets to work dragging a cable out of it.

“Extra power. Little bit of a cheat, but who’s counting? Jack, you’re in charge of the retro feeds.”

Chantho, Rose, and Martha arrive back in the lab. Martha immediately lets out a sigh of relief as she sees the TARDIS.

“Oh, am I glad to see that thing.”

“She is a sight for sore eyes,” Rose agreed, noting that Martha called the TARDIS ‘it’ not ‘she’.

Chantho immediately rushes to the professor’s side. He’s sitting with a pained expression. “Chan Professor, are you all right tho?”

“Yes, I’m fine. I’m fine. I’m fine. Just get on with it.” Yana waves her away.

Jack grabbed the attention of Rose and Martha. “Connect those circuits into the spar, same as that last lot. But quicker,” he ordered, not unkindly.

Martha’s eyes widened, “ooo, yes sir.”

Rose gave him a grin with just a peek of her tongue as she mock saluted. They both went to connect the circuits.

The Doctor crouched down beside Yana. “You don’t have to keep working. We can handle it.”

“It’s just a headache. It’s just, just noise inside my head, Doctor. Constant noise inside my head.”

“What kind of noise?” The Doctor questioned, frowning.

“It’s the sound of drums. More and more, as though it’s getting closer.” Yana explained.

“When did it start?”

“Oh, I’ve had it all my life. Every waking hour.” He pulls himself up, “still, no rest for the wicked.”

Martha and Chantho place circuit boards in the rack while Rose helps Jack at a control panel.

“How long have you been with the professor?”

“Chan seventeen years tho.”

Martha was surprised, “blimey, a long time.”

“Chan I adore him tho.”

“Oh right, and he....” Martha indicated for her to continue.

“Chan I don’t think he even notices tho.” Chantho tries to hide her face.

Martha thinks about her crush on the Doctor, and how he barely ever looked at her twice. “Tell me about it.”

“Chan but I am happy to serve tho.”

“Do you mind if I ask? Do you have to start every sentence with chan?

“Chan yes tho.” She replied looking earnest.

“And end every sentence with-“

“Chan tho tho.”

Martha turned to face her. “What would happen if you didn’t?”

“Chan that would be rude tho.” Chantho looked scandalized that she even asked.

“What, like swearing?”

“Chan indeed tho.”

“Go on, just once.”

“Chan I can’t tho.”

“Oh, do it for me.” Martha egged her on.

Chantho looked around to make sure no one was near. “No.” She burst into giggles at her impropriety.


	14. Chapter 14

Atillo’s voice comes through the monitor. **Professor. Systems are down. Professor are you getting me?** Then he appears on the monitor.

Yana exclaims “I’m here! We’re ready! Now all you need to do is connect the couplings, then we can launch.” The screen dissolves into static. “God’s sake! This equipment. Needs rebooting all the time.”

Martha came over, “anything I can do? I’ve finished that lot.”

“Yes, if you could. Just press the reboot key every time the picture goes.”

“Certainly sir. Just don’t ask me to do shorthand.” Martha jokes.

“Right.”

The picture clears and Atillo is back on screen. **Are you still there?**

“Ah, present and correct. Send your man inside. We’ll keep the levels down from here.” The professor assures him.

**He’s inside. And good luck to him.**

Yana turned to Jack, “Captain, keep the dials below the red.”

“Yes, sir.”

The Doctor moved to the monitor, “where is that room?”

“It’s underneath the rocket.” Yana informed him. “Fix the couplings and the footprint can work. But the entire chamber is flooded with stet radiation.

“Stet?” The Doctor let his mouth feel out the word. “Never heard of it.”

“You wouldn’t want to. But it’s safe enough, if we can hold the radiation back from here.” They both watched the monitor as the man connects couplings, then an alarm sounds. “It’s rising. Naught point two. Keep it level!”

Jack replies “yes, sir!”

Only two couplings are connected when more alarms blare.

“Chan we’re losing power tho!”

The Doctor runs over to check the readings, “radiation’s rising!”

“We’ve lost control!” Announces Jack as he tries to keep it level.

Horror creeps into Yana’s voice, “the chamber’s going to flood.”

“Jack, override the vents!” The Doctor orders as he frantically flips switches.

Jack yanks out the power cables, “we can jump start the override.” He moves to connect the two cables by hand.

The Doctor realizes what’s going to happen, but it’s too late. He shouts “don’t. It’s going to flare!” As Jack holds the live ends together getting electrocuted in the process. On the monitor, the man in the chamber evaporates leaving the suit to fall to the floor.

Rose and Martha run over to Jack and kneel beside him. Rose takes his hand.

“I’ve got him.” Martha calls as she gets there, and starts mouth to mouth.

“Chan don’t touch the cables tho.” Chantho throws the cables out of the way.

Yana stares down at Jack with sympathy, “oh, I’m so sorry.”

“The chamber’s flooded with radiation, yes?” The Doctor confirms.

The professor replied disheartened. “Without the couplings, the engines will never start. It was all for nothing.”

“Oh, I don’t know.” He bends down and pulls Martha away from Jack, “Martha, leave him.”

“You’ve got to let me try” she protests.

“Come on, come on, just listen to me. Now leave him alone.” He focuses on the professor, “it strikes me Professor, you’ve got a room which no man can enter without dying. Is that correct?”

“Yes.”

“Well...” The Doctor pauses for dramatic effect, and Jack gasps loudly as he returns to life. “I think I’ve got just the man.”

Jack looked up at the women on either side of him. “Was someone kissing me?”

\----------

The Doctor, Rose, and Jack run into the control room.

The Doctor headed straight for Atillo. “Lieutenant, get on board the rocket! I promise you’re going to fly.

“The chamber’s flooded” He pointed out.

“Trust me. We’ve found a way of tripping the system.” The lie came out smoothly and believably. “Run!” As Atillo leaves, Jack is taking off his coat and shirt. “What are you taking your clothes off for?”

Jack looked at him like he dribbled on his shirt. “I’m going in.”

“Well, by the looks of it, I’d say the stet radiation doesn’t effect clothing, only flesh.”

Jack thought it over for a second, putting his suspenders back on. “Well, I look good though.”

Rose grinned at him with her tongue between her teeth, “you know it.”

Jack winked at them both as the Doctor opens the door for him. “Good luck.” And he closes it after Jack is in.

\----------

Martha reboots the monitor, “we lost picture when that thing flared up. Doctor, Rose, are you there?"

**Receiving, yeah. He's inside.** Came the Doctor’s voice.

“And still alive?”

**Oh yeah** answered Rose.

Yana is shocked, “but he should evaporate. What sort of a man is he?”

“I’ve only just met him, and Rose too. The Doctor sort of travels through time and space and pick people up. God, I make us sound like stray dogs. Maybe we are.”

“He travels in time?” Yana repeats as he hears the words whisper again, and again in his head.

“Don’t ask me to explain it. That’s a TARDIS, that box thing.” Martha jabs a thumb towards it. “The sports car of time travel, he says.”

Yana stares into space, tears starting to roll down his cheeks, as he hears the echoes of the words repeat in his mind.

\-----------

Down in the control room, as he’s connecting couplings Jack starts up a conversation. “So, about the whole can’t die thing, I know Rose did it, but do you think she can change me back?” Jack aims the question at the Doctor.

“I don’t know. I thought I took all the power out of her, but from what you’ve told me, some still remains. But the time vortex, it’s hard to control, but it’s possible. But I don’t think she will though, Bad Wolf made you immortal for a reason.”

Rose thought about it for a minute. “I could try to separate your atoms and turn you into dust like the Daleks and Abaddon. But I’m not sure.”

“It’s okay.” Jack connected another coupling. “You know, I went back to your estate, in the 90’s, just once or twice, when I thought you had died. Watched you growing up. Never said hello. Timelines and all that.”

The Doctor gave Jack strange look. “Do you want to die?”

“Oh, this one’s a little stuck” meaning the coupling.

The Doctor pressed his forehead onto the window of the chamber. “ _Jack_.”

“I thought I did, I don’t know. But this lot. You see them out here surviving, and that’s fantastic.” Jack uses the previous incarnation’s catchphrase.

The Doctor shares a grin with Jack. “You might be out there, somewhere.”

Jack gives him a thoughtful look, “I could go meet myself.”

“Well, the only man you’re ever going to be happy with.” The Doctor teases, then flinches in mock pain as Rose slaps him in the arm.

Jack laughs, “you never know” and gives the Doctor a wink. “This new regeneration, it’s kind of cheeky.” The Doctor hums in agreement.


	15. Chapter 15

“I never understand half the things he says.” Martha turns to look at Yana and sees him silently crying. “What’s wrong?”

“Chan Professor, what is it tho?”

“Time travel. They say there was time travel back in the old days. I never believed. But what would I know? Stupid old man. Never could keep time. Always late, always lost.” He pulled out his pocket watch. “Even this thing never worked. Time and time and time again. Always running out on me.”

Martha approached slowly, “can I have a look at that?”

Yana tried to dismiss her interest. “Oh, it’s only an old relic. Like me.”

“Where did you get it?”

“Hmm? I was found with it. An orphan in the storm. I was a naked child found on the coast of the Silver Devastation. Abandoned, with only this.” Yana stared into space recalling that time so long ago.

“Have you opened it?”

The professor looked at her incredulously, “why would I? It’s broken.”

“How do you know it’s broken if you’ve never opened it?” Martha pointed out.

“It’s stuck. It’s old. It’s not meant to be. I don’t know.” Yana relinquishes the watch to Martha and she turns it over. A bolt of recognition shoots through her, it has the same symbols as the Doctor’s.

“Does it matter?” Yana asks.

“No, it’s nothing. Listen everything’s fine up here. I’m going to see if the Doctor needs me.”

\---------

“Yes!” Jack shouts out as he connects the final coupling.

The Doctor opens the door, “now get out of there. Come on!” After closing it behind him, the Doctor grabbed the telephone to speak with Atillo. “Lieutenant, everyone on board?”

“Ready and waiting.”

“Stand by. Two minutes to ignition.”

“Ready to launch. Outer doors sealed.” Atillo reported.

The computer activated. **Countdown commencing. T minus 99, 98....**

The Doctor and Jack hurried to set all the systems to go. Martha enters in a rush, and catches the Doctor’s eye.

“Ah, nearly there. The footprint, it’s a gravity pulse. It stamps down, the rocket shoots up. Bit primitive. It’ll take the two of us to keep it stable.” During the entire explanation, the Doctor didn’t stop working.

“Doctor, it’s the professor. He’s got this watch. He’s got a fob watch. It’s the same as yours. Same writing on it. Same everything.”

The Doctor stared in shock at Martha. “Don’t be ridiculous.” His voice hiding a trace of fear.

“I asked him. He said he’s had it his whole life.”

Rose drew closer to her, “what does it mean, that he has the same watch?”

Martha tried to explain it. “It’s not a watch, it’s this chameleon thing.”

The Doctor interjected, “no, no, no. It’s this, this thing, this device. It rewrites biology. Changes a Time Lord into a human.” At that Rose and Jack whipped their heads around to stare at him.

“And it’s the same watch” Martha insisted.

The Doctor was very firmly in denial, “it can’t be.”

As an alarm sounded, and Jack was a first to say what they were all thinking. “That means he could be a Time Lord. You might not be the last one!”

“Jack, keep it level!” The Doctor shouted, reading the data from a control panel.

“But that’s brilliant, isn’t it?” Rose asked.

“Yes, it is. Course it is. Depends which one. Brilliant, fantastic, yeah. But they died, the Tim Lords. All of them. They died.” At the Doctor’s words, Rose came over a laid a comforting hand on his back.

“Not if he was human,” reasoned Jack.

“What did he say Martha?” He advanced on her and shouted. “What did he say?!”

Martha jumped; the Doctor never spoke to her like that. “He looked at the watch like he could hardly see it. Like that perception filter thing.”

“What about now? Can he see it now?” His voice revealing the smallest bit of fear.

\---------

Professor Yana holds the watch and hears a voice from inside it. **The drums, the drums, the drums, the never ending drumbeat. Open me, you human fool. Open the light and summon me and receive my majesty.**

“Chan Yana, won’t you please take some rest tho?”

\---------

The computer has already reached thirteen and is steadily counting down the seconds.

“If he escaped the Time War then it’s the perfect place to hide. The end of the universe.” Jack rationalized.

Martha spoke up “think of what the Face of Boe said.” Jack did a double take, recognising one of his alias’ and realising he must have looked completely different for them not to recognise him as the Face of Boe; he then filed that information away to think about later. “His dying words. He said....”

As the computer hits one, the Doctor turns two keys in the control panel, feeling the emergence of another Time Lord in his mind. His mind goes back to the last words the Face of Boe said.

 **Y** ou **A** re **N** ot **A** lone.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading. This work was inspired by surrexi's Pawns in the Game and The Wolf at the Door. You can find them over at fanfiction.net/u/161044/surrexi. Please give them some love. 
> 
> I appreciate any and all feedback. See you next chapter!


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